Apple forced to run ‘Samsung did not copy iPad’ advert after court ruling

Apple will have to publish an advert on its website and in newspapers that says rival computer tablet maker Samsung did not ‘copy’ the iPad, according to reports.

Judge ‘forces’ Apple to print adverts that say the Samsung Galaxy Tab (R) is not a copy of the iPad (L) (Picture: Reuters)

The iPhone maker will have to post the notice on its homepage for six months and also take out advertising in leading UK newspapers such as the Daily Mail, the Guardian and the Financial Times, according to Bloomberg news.

The action follows a ruling at London’s High Court that dismissed Apple’s argument the South Korean company imitated its device with the Galaxy tab.

An Apple statement released prior to the ruling read: ‘It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging.

Apple will have to place the notice on their website (Picture: Apple)

‘This kind of blatant copying is wrong and, as we’ve said many times before, we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.’

Judge Colin Birss ruled it was improbable customers would confuse the two devices as the Galaxy tab was ‘not as cool’ as the more popular iPad.

‘They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design, they are not as cool,’ he said.

But the judge stopped short of preventing Apple accusing Samsung of copying in his latest judgement, saying ‘they are entitled to their opinion’.